Saviour of Bali victims favoured for award

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You can put down your glasses, as the racehorse broadcaster Ken
Howard used to say; Dr Fiona Wood will become Australian of the
Year on Tuesday.

At least that is what the punters and bookies say. However,
there is no point in rushing out to have a bet on the mother-of-six
with the revolutionary treatment for burns victims. The books have
closed because some people already know the winner and bookmakers
have to be fair.

Dr Wood is expected to collect her honour from the Prime
Minister, John Howard, in Canberra. She was a nominee last year,
when Steve Waugh, the former Australian cricket captain, won.

Mind you, as the punters and bookies also say, there is no such
thing as a certainty in any race. It is a hot field.

Dr Wood, director of the Royal Perth Hospital burns unit, won
worldwide recognition for her treatment of Bali bombing victims,
using a spray-on skin that helps existing skin regenerate.

Rodney Cocks, of Victoria, is a young man who helped rescue
victims in Bali and worked in Baghdad for the United Nations.

David Gulpilil, the actor and Aboriginal community worker, is
the Northern Territory's choice; the woodcutting champion David
Foster is Tasmania's; the environmentalist and marine mammal
conservationist Dr Michael Bossley is South Australia's; and Julie
Hammer, one of the RAAF's first female engineers, who became an
air-vice marshal in 2003, is the ACT's choice.

Nicole Kidman, Academy Award winner and UNICEF ambassador,
represents NSW. Her nomination describes her as "one of Australia's
best-known cultural exports" and notes her support of the campaign
against women's reproductive cancer, her ambassadorial work
overseas for NSW and children's health.

Centrebet had Kidman as favourite when betting opened but her
nomination brought criticism on the grounds that there were more
worthy choices than Hollywood millionaires.

The Premier, Bob Carr, came out in her support but she blew, as
bookies say, in the betting.

The award recognises Australians who "inspire national pride and
spirit to enrich the life of the nation".

It is part of Australia Day celebrations that have become more
like Australia Week - with Richard Pratt's Australia Day address
last Wednesday, the Australia Day luncheon yesterday, announcements
of the Young Australian, Senior Australian and Local Heroes of the
year and, finally, Australia Day on Wednesday.